The Battle of Salamis

The Battle of Salamis which took place in September of 480 B.C. was one of the most important battles in history. The victory by the Greeks under Themistocles insured that Xerxes would be forced to retreat to Persia. The battle would lay the foundation for an Athenian Empire that would come to be called the Delian League.

This site explores the Battle of Salamis and its consequences. Use the table of contents below or the nav-bar at the top of each page to go to specific topics of your choice. To view the site in the order in which it was intended, simply use the "next page" links at the bottom of each page.

There are many great figures in the history of Greece, but Themistocles stands out as the general/admiral who engineered the Greek victory.

Xerxes comes down to Western History as the man who entered Greece with over 100,000 men and more than 1200 ships only to be stymied by the cunning and courage of the Greeks. Yet he was a great ruler in his day.

Triremes were the type of vessel used by both sides during the battle.

The Battle of Salamis did not so much show the superiority of Greek technology or even better leadership, but just may have been a Greek victory because of Greek misinformation.